2003 Western Naturals
by Gene X Hwang - May 24, 2003

Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada - With the rapid growth and popularity of figure competitions, and the IFBB's introduction this year of figure as a pro event, many amateur federations have been struggling with how to make the competitions more exciting. With the number of participants at the amateur level quite high, judging of figure competitions can take quite a long time, and are often not very interesting to the audience. So in an effort to try something new, the BCABBA - the British Columbia Amateur BodyBuilding Association(?) planned on adding a strength element to their figure competition.

The Western Naturals set the stage. Other federations such as NABBA have successfully had figure competitions in the past using open handed posing, so it was with baited optimism that the show began. However, a day before, the promoters decided not to include the dip competition, and so it will not yet be known how it would have been received.

According to promoter Joanna Dunn, "the reason the dips were taken out was because of the number of athletes. That round would of taken 30-45 minutes to do dips with 15 athletes and as it was the show was going till 11pm. We felt it was a bonus for the girls and decided to just let them come out in their one and two piece again. I would of loved to have seen that but it wasn't realistic time wise."

The short class had nine entrants, and Sheila Landry took the class. With a look a bit like Sunshine Fritzges (but not as muscular), Landry was poised and had good lines. Natalie Frank took second, with a very impressive upper back and Lily Hum was third. Hum has good lines and Tina Ranger was probably the most conditioned athlete in the class.

In the tall class, Kimberly Stefanski was the favorite, with a great v-taper and awesome conditioning. With visible cuts, Stefanski was easily the winner over Macey Bodreau who also looked very strong. Bodreau looked better in her two-piece and has some nice muscularity as well. Seema D'Souza took third, and Alexis Glabus also looked strong, but needs to add some more muscle to create more lines on her physique. For the overall it must have been very close, with the judges going for the softer look Landry possesses over Stafanski's harder, but more aesthetic package.

In the fitness competition, there were two competitors and local Dixie Nagel took the class, with a superior physique and strong routine. Sara Stewart took second.

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Of course for many, it was the bodybuilding that they were there for, and there were a slew of athletes that took the stage.

The masters competitors started things off with five in the over 35 division. Melody Sanders was very lean and had a little more width to her physique and edged out the ripped Christen Kwan who also took home the best poser award. Carley Thomas took third, and had a very pleasant physique, but not enough muscle mass to break into the top three. In the Grandmaster division (over 45), 48-year-old Diane Finnie took first over Mary Casselman, who has good shape, a nice back, and was definitely cut. Third was Elke Mihic followed by Ureata Wilson.

The junior division only had one competitor, Zarah Pacheco who was 19-years-old, and had some solid musculature and was able to effectively pose - something not all competitors at shows this level know how to do and for someone her age, was impressive. The lightweights included three competitors and two from the Masters class, with the same top two, and Jacqui Balkwill rounding out the class.

Eight competitors graced the middleweights and the class was very competitive. In the end, though, Melody Newbury took the class. With a very lean cut physique and good definition throughout, she was better conditioned than second place finisher Tina Ranger. Newbury's tight upper body was impressive, and had a look akin to a combination of Sue Ann McKean and Julie McNew from the 1980's. Ranger has a nice v-taper and good aesthetics, and placed ahead of Karen Mahar, who wasn't able to present her physique to it's strengths. With a bit more posing work, Mahar will improve, as her underlying physique is quite strong, and she came in well conditioned too. In particular her delts would shine if she stood with more authority even in relaxed poses. Pamela Bartow has a nice wide back and strong upper body, but didn't make it into the top three.

The heavyweights were swept by the very impressive Zoa Wartman. Wartman had the complete package with great definition and thin skin, as well as full muscles and strong presentation. She beat out Miriam Power in second, and Susan Rahe in third. Look for more things from Wartman, who also took the overall, and should be moving up the ranks quickly.

Although the exclusion of the dips competition was unfortunate, the show was run very well, and Joanna Dunn and her crew put on an excellent show in Nanaimo.